We are all unique. Strategies that work for one person may not work for another. This is why it’s important for all of us to find our root cause to allow for healing to take place. I’d like to share with you all Karen’s story, on how she was able to find and treat the root cause of her many “thyroid” symptoms.
Here is Karen’s Thyroid Story
Karen, like many of us, thinks that she had issues with her thyroid for many years before she was diagnosed.
She remembers taking scolding hot baths in high school to warm herself up, and being more tired compared to her classmates. She struggled with her weight, focus and with anxiety. She remembers that her aunt, who was a nurse, commented that Karen appeared to have a goiter at age 17.
In the 80’s, when Karen was in her early 20’s, while at the University of Illinois (my alma matter), she became interested in nutrition and experimented with the Atkins diet, a no carb/low carb diet that was popular at the time. This lifestyle helped her tremendously. She felt better and was able to lose weight.
Fast forward a couple of decades and three children later; Karen found herself it a rut.
As a mother of a son with autism, Karen was no stranger to thinking outside the box for medical treatments. Karen had worked tirelessly to implement many alternative therapies to recover her son from autism.
She was amazed how well her son responded to a Gluten Free/Casein Free/Low Carbohydrate Diet combined with the antibiotic Zithromax. “It’s as though his ticks and obsessive-compulsive behaviors were turned off by this combination!” Karen exclaimed.
Nonetheless, despite all of her knowledge, like many moms, Karen was more focused on her children and taking care of others rather than on her health.
She had an enlarged neck and was feeling terrible. She saw an endocrinologist and was diagnosed with Graves’ disease. Her Graves’ was treated with methimazole, and did not come back once she was taken off the medication. While her endocrinologist did a great job with managing Karen with thyroid suppressive medications (medications like methimazole are extremely important to prevent the dangerous effects of excessively high thyroid hormone levels), Karen was never treated for an immune system imbalance. Although her Graves’ disease did not resurface, she later developed Hashimoto’s. Her TPO antibodies were in the 700 range. (In some cases this can happen when the immune system continues to be imbalanced. Graves and Hashimoto’s are both autoimmune conditions that affect the thyroid. They are thought to be closely related. Sometimes one turns into the other. The difference is the site of the antibody attack. In Hashimoto’s, the antibodies are found to thyroglobulin (in 80%) and thyroid peroxidase (TPO) enzyme, while the main antibody in Graves’ is to the TSH receptor)
Karen felt terrible. She was exhausted and so anxious that she couldn’t function. She had muscle pain that would last for days. She also began to have severe bladder issues, presenting with urinary frequency, pain and blood in her urine.
However, her urine cultures were normal, and she was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis and inflammatory condition that affects the bladder. “I thought I was dying of bladder cancer and I thought I was going crazy.”
At this point, Karen knew that she had to do something about her health, and her healing journey began…
She started taking a natural desiccated thyroid medication and felt somewhat better. She also started to follow a gluten free/dairy free diet and started probiotics, cranberry supplements and beta-glucan (an immune modulating substance). She began juicing and did an over the counter liver cleanse. These interventions were somewhat helpful, but she still continued to struggle, and then, as it so often happens, Karen got to the root cause of her many symptoms… by accident.
Due to continued bladder issues, Karen’s doctor prescribed an antibiotic for her, despite her having normal urine tests.
“It was like a miracle,8 mile” Karen said, “Within one day of taking the antibiotic all of my symptoms were completely gone”. No more stressing out and feeling exhausted“. I get tired like a normal person does. Now I’m able to 8-milebike rides, work, multitask. No more back pain or joint pain”. Karen has been off thyroid medication since May 2013 and has never felt fatigue again.
Karen continues to eat a mostly gluten and dairy free diet as well as avoids processed foods. “I always feel it in my joints the day after.” Her gut feels better and better.
Karen says” “ I saw a doctor that wasn’t interested in treating the autoimmune component of my condition, and through my interventions and the effects I see in my son, I now understand that it’s all connected to the gut.”
To busy moms, Karen says:”Taking care of your health will allow you to be a better advocate and role model for your children.”
My commentary
So what was Karen’s root cause? We may never know, as she was treated with antibiotics for a different condition and never had her gut function tested. It could have been a pathogenic bacteria or a small bowel overgrowth that were causing intestinal permeability and autoimmune symptoms through molecular mimicry. Or perhaps it was an overgrowth of bad bacteria that normalized after the antibiotics and probiotics were started. Additionally, she could have been reacting to the commensal bacteria in her gut.
The role of gut infections needs to be considered in everyone with Hashimoto’s or autoimmune disease. The infections could be bacterial, fungal or parasitic in nature; any imbalance in the gut can lead to intestinal permeability, which is closely related to autoimmunity. Normalizing gut function can really work wonders for our overall health and has been shown to put multiple autoimmune conditions in remission.
Antibiotics won’t work for everyone, and as a pharmacist, I want to let all of you know that inappropriate medication use can be very dangerous. There are many different antibiotics that treat different types of bacteria. People may present with the same symptoms, but have a different type of infection responsible for the symptoms.
In some cases, we may be reacting to the commensal bacteria normally present in our gut, and the underlying bacteria may be only suppressed by antibiotics and may come back once the antibiotics are no longer used. This seems to have been the case in Karen’s son. The antibiotics only suppressed the bacteria.In that case, I would recommend digging deeper for another reason for intestinal permeability, such as a protozoa or an infection. While the gut bacteria may be a trigger, the intestinal permeability allows it to interact with our genes, causing autoimmunity.
A recent study showed that women with Hashimoto’s are more likely to have children with autism. While some have postulated that this is a result of abnormal thyroid hormone function, autism and Hashimoto’s share a common underlying thread-they are both autoimmune conditions that are thought to be caused by genes, triggers, and an underlying intestinal permeability. While I am fascinated with autism, I am not an autism expert, nor do I have the knowledge on how autism can be reversed. However, treating the underlying intestinal permeability is an approach that works wonders for Hashimoto’s and other autoimmune conditions.
For more information about infections associated with Hashimoto’s, you can read this post on Hashimoto’s and Infections.
Read here for more information about 6 different types of root causes.
Karen runs a closed group on Infections & Hashimoto’s on Facebook.
PS. You can also download a free Thyroid Diet Guide, 10 Thyroid friendly recipes, and the Nutrient Depletions and Digestion chapter for free by going to www.thyroidpharmacist.com/gift. You will also receive occasional updates about new research, resources, giveaways and helpful information.
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However I find the focus of the blog and book’s advice is for people who have a boat-load of digestive issues and that’s not helpful to me.
Aside from getting a bit of indigestion if I eat onions or peppers, I have a very very healthy digestive system. And “the healthy colon of a 20-year-old” according to my internist. My gut has no issues.
I’m 65 and have been treated for Hashimoto’s with 75 mcg Levothyroxine for about 4 years although I’ve had the symptoms for a lots more years than that. And I still have many of the symptoms – feeling cold ALL the time (wear sweaters in 80+ degree weather), easily tired, lack of energy, dry itchy skin, coarse hair, weight gain (even if on 900 calories a day), hives, acne, etc. etc.
Recently my GP added 12.5 mcg of Liothyronine to my regimen but it doesn’t seem to be making any noticeable difference. What I have discovered through the book and Dr. Rind’s site, is that my body temperature is a good degree to a degree and a half lower than normal all the time. The only time I get anywhere near 98.6 is ocasionally late in the afternoon. Coincidentally this is also the time of day I usually make my Dr. appointments, so most of the time my temperature has read at or near normal at my appointments! So I’ve just changed my next apppointment to a morning time when it registers “normal” for me – this morning, for instance it was 96.9, 3 hours later it’s 97.7. This has been the common pattern I’ve been recording for the last month.
If I’m understanding this correctly, it seems I have an adrenal issue and I’m hoping to convince my GP that my blood results aren’t reflecting what’s really going on. She’s young and I thought she’d be more receptive to my concerns but so far I can’t seem to get through to her and I find it incredibly frustrating.
Personally I’ve added selenium to my diet (2 Brazil nuts daily), and switched back to iodized table salt from sea salt. Small changes but too soon to see if they have any effect at all.
If it is possible, I would like to see more general information here that isn’t totally focused on people with gut/dietary issues. Thanks!
Linda- Have you checked out these books? 🙂 Hashimoto’s Root Cause Book
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615825796?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0615825796&linkCode=xm2&tag=thyroipharma-20
Hashimoto’s Protocol Book
https://smile.amazon.com/Hashimotos-Protocol-Reversing-Thyroid-Symptoms/dp/006257129X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482698453&sr=8-1&keywords=Hashimoto%27s+Protocol
And yet when I tried an elimination diet (and later an autoimmune paleo diet), I found that the symptoms of my Hashimoto’s lifted magically, and almost overnight. And when I eat certain of those foods again, the symptoms come right back for a few days. So clearly I have gut problems, but without classic digestive symptoms of any kind. This turns out not to be so surprising, since research has shown an incredibly strong and consistent connection between autoimmune diseases of all types and gut dysbiosis; and autoimmune sufferers of all types have had pretty amazing responses to changes in their diets.
So while I don’t know if you have gut problems or not, gut problems can be silent while still doing a lot of damage, and it can be impossible to know if you have gut problems without experimenting. You might see if addressing your gut helps, since there is so little to lose and so much to gain. Either way, good luck!
I think a good first step can be to try eliminating just a few things at first, for a few weeks to a month, and seeing if you notice a difference; if you do, it’s probably good to dig further. Based on my experience and that of others, the top three things to try to eliminate would be gluten, dairy and tomatoes, in that order. So if you were going to just try one thing, I’d make it gluten (though all three would be even better). And you need to read up on gluten elimination, to make sure you’re not accidentally eating hidden sources of it.
If you find that your symptoms improve when you eliminate these foods, and if a trial of adding them back in leads to worse symptoms, then you know that your gut is involved in your autoimmune issues. In that case I would highly recommend reading the work of Sarah Ballantyne, known as The Paleo Mom, at http://www.thepaleomom.com, she’s a great resource for autoimmune diets! I hope that helps 🙂
Erin, your top 3 – gluten, dairy and tomatoes – cover a whole lot of ground. I basically eat relatively low carb, and tomato juice and tomatoes are cornerstones of my daily breakfast along with eggs. I need to research more about gluten because I haven’t yet, I’m sure there’s lots to learn and thanks too for the website link.
Izabella, I just got your ebook last night. I’m going to sit down and study it today and I have been going through the website too.
Thanks again, both, for your help.
Erin, your top 3 – gluten, dairy and tomatoes – cover a whole lot of ground. I basically eat relatively low carb, and tomato juice and tomatoes are cornerstones of my daily breakfast along with eggs. I need to research more about gluten because I haven’t yet, I’m sure there’s lots to learn and thanks too for the website link.
Izabella, I just got your ebook last night. I’m going to sit down and study it today and I have been going through the website too.
Thanks again, both, for your help.
Erin, your top 3 – gluten, dairy and tomatoes – cover a whole lot of ground. I basically eat relatively low carb, and tomato juice and tomatoes are cornerstones of my daily breakfast along with eggs. I need to research more about gluten because I haven’t yet, I’m sure there’s lots to learn and thanks too for the website link.
Izabella, I just got your eBook earlier this week. I’ve been studying it and I going through the website too.
Thanks again, both, for your help.
Erin, your top 3 – gluten, dairy and tomatoes – cover a whole lot of ground. I basically eat relatively low carb, and tomato juice and tomatoes are cornerstones of my daily breakfast along with eggs. I need to research more about gluten because I haven’t yet, I’m sure there’s lots to learn and thanks too for the website link.
Izabella, I just got your eBook earlier this week. I’ve been studying it and I going through the website too.
Thanks again, both, for your help.
Cathy- Here are a couple of articles you may find interesting! 🙂
HASHIMOTO’S AND THE GUT
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/hashimotos-and-the-gut
THE GUT AND AUTOIMMUNE THYROID CONNECTION
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/the-gut-and-autoimmune-thyroid-connection
What are your thoughts on the safety of taking Beta Glucan if you have an autoimmune disorder?
Dawn – thank you for reaching out. In the case of autoimmune conditions, traditional and alternative medicine practitioners may focus on rebalancing the immune system (i.e., steroids and immune-modulating drugs used in traditional medicine; herbs, supplements, or acupuncture used in alternative medicine).
While this approach may be helpful for taming the immune system in the short term or overcoming autoimmune flares, it is often a temporary solution and the immune system may become imbalanced again once the medications, acupuncture, and herbs and supplements are stopped if the underlying issue that lead to the immune system imbalance is not addressed. Thus we can say that immune modulation treats only the symptoms, and not the root cause.
As we can’t change genes, our approach to addressing the root cause of Hashimoto’s is threefold
1) Reducing triggers
2) Eliminating intestinal permeability
3) Providing the body with nutrients to regenerate
Eliminating and identifying triggers and toxins will likely take a few weeks to a few months. Providing the thyroid with the nutrition needed to help rebuild and detoxify will likely take three to six months
Rebalancing the immune system by addressing the root cause of autoimmunity (intestinal permeability, gut dysbiosis, infections) may take one to three years, but in the meantime, we can modulate the immune system and throw our thyroid antibodies a decoy. With the exception of discussing proper thyroid medication dosing, the majority of my website and my book focuses on balancing the immune system. The info I present is based on my own research and journey for overcoming my autoimmune thyroid condition.
Hashimoto’s Root Cause
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615825796?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0615825796&linkCode=xm2&tag=thyroipharma-20
Hashimoto’s Protocol
thyroidpharmacist.com/protocol
Hello- I came across this from searching Hashimoto’s and bladder issues. I have developed an overactive bladder over the past few years now more recently, urinary incontinence, but all of my urine samples/blood work come back fine, aside from the fact that I have Hashimoto’s. I have gotten extensive blood work done from integrative and traditional physicians, and nothing comes up.
What was the antibiotic Karen was prescribed? Is that important? This mirrors my own experience almost exactly, and I’d love to share it with my endocrinologist and primary care physician to see if this is a solution we can try.
Kate – thank you for reaching out. I am sorry you are struggling with this. Antibiotics won’t work for everyone, and as a pharmacist, I want to let you know that inappropriate medication use can be very dangerous. There are many different antibiotics that treat different types of bacteria. People may present with the same symptoms, but have a different type of infection responsible for the symptoms. The role of gut infections needs to be considered in everyone with Hashimoto’s or autoimmune disease. The infections could be bacterial, fungal or parasitic in nature; any imbalance in the gut can lead to intestinal permeability, which is closely related to autoimmunity. Normalizing gut function can really work wonders for our overall health and has been shown to put multiple autoimmune conditions in remission. Gut healing is a journey; you may need various interventions like removing reactive foods and infections, taking enzymes and probiotics, and balancing nutrients. Remember, be kind to yourself and learn to listen to your body so that you can support and feed it properly! You are worth it! You may find this article helpful as well!
WHAT’S CAUSING YOUR LEAKY GUT
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/whats-causing-your-leaky-gut/
SUPPLEMENTS ACTUALLY HELP HASHIMOTO’S
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/which-supplements-actually-help-hashimotos/
Hello
Great article. I have been dealing with IC/ vulvodynia for over 10 years. I just recently found out I have Hashimoto Thyroiditis. What was the Antibiotics that woman took? Thank you ?
So much.
Shannon
Shannon – thank you for reaching out. <3 I am sorry you are struggling with this. There are many different antibiotics that treat different types of bacteria. People may present with the same symptoms, but have a different type of infection responsible for the symptoms. The role of gut infections needs to be considered in everyone with Hashimoto’s or autoimmune disease. The infections could be bacterial, fungal or parasitic in nature; any imbalance in the gut can lead to intestinal permeability, which is closely related to autoimmunity. Normalizing gut function can really work wonders for our overall health and has been shown to put multiple autoimmune conditions in remission. Gut healing is a journey; you may need various interventions like removing reactive foods and infections, taking enzymes and probiotics, and balancing nutrients. Remember, be kind to yourself and learn to listen to your body so that you can support and feed it properly! You are worth it! You may find this article helpful as well!
WHAT’S CAUSING YOUR LEAKY GUT
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/whats-causing-your-leaky-gut/
SUPPLEMENTS ACTUALLY HELP HASHIMOTO’S
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/which-supplements-actually-help-hashimotos/